South Georgia may be feeling the heat, but the Workhorse Cinema Production Company is bringing something a little cooler to the region — the holiday spirit.
For the past three weeks, production has set up shop in Tifton for filming of “The Holiday Dating Guide,” a film that Fitzgerald actor and producer Alexander Kane describes as the “Hitch” meets “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” of Christmas films, bringing in the whole “Christmas in July” spirit.
“Nothing like sweating to death in 100-degree heat under 13 layers of clothes trying to pretend it’s 8 degrees outside and snowing. We have lots of fun with the actors when we are all in shorts and they are in scarves and jackets … that’s the only time an actor wishes they were behind the camera instead of in front of it,” he said.
Based out of Fitzgerald, Workhorse was created in 2020 with the goal of stimulating the economies of smaller South Georgia cities through film production. In the company’s first year, the team managed to produce $8 million worth of projects for the city and attracted top Hollywood talent such as Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and Luke Wilson. Now, with an economic impact of $60 million in just three years, the company plans on bringing the same payoff to cities such as Tifton and Valdosta.
“I grew up here, I live here, this is home. When I go to other places, I bring South Georgia with me. It’s in my heart, it made me, it’s an undeniable part of me and I always pitch everyone on what’s great about our neck of the woods. The people and the resources down here are second to none,” he said.
“I relocated (to Valdosta) from Fitzgerald to move all our films down to Valdosta and the surrounding South Georgia area. So many films will be coming down here starting this fall. Both (Valdosta and Tifton) have amazing mayors, councils, committees, etc. … the overall leadership of Tifton, Valdosta and Quitman are great examples for other small South Georgia towns to learn from. They embrace new opportunities and do their research before getting on board so they have a plan in place to support the industry and make sure it benefits their citizens as well as the new venture.” See more.
